1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a method and a system for supplying gas into a body.
2. Description of the Related Art
In recent years, laparoscopic surgeries have been practiced extensively. The laparoscopic surgery is executed for treating a patient with minimally invasive capability.
Specifically, in the laparoscopic surgeries, for example, a rigid endoscope, referred to as “rigidscope”, for observation is inserted into a body cavity, such as, an abdominal cavity of a patient. A treatment tool is inserted into the abdominal cavity to be guided to a site to be treated therein while an image of the inside of the abdominal cavity, which is obtained by the rigidscope, is observed.
In such a laparoscopic surgery, an insufflator has been used for supplying carbon dioxide gas (hereinafter also referred to as CO2) as insufflating gas into an abdominal cavity of the patient to ensure the rigidscope field and a space to manipulate the treatment tool.
Conventionally, some types of insufflators each for supplying carbon dioxide into one of body cavities, such as an abdominal cavity of the patient, have been prepared.
For example, Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 2000-139830 discloses a gas supplying apparatus designed to feed a control signal to a pressure-regulating valve when gas flow volume does not reach a predetermined value. The control signal causes the pressure-regulating valve to increase the pressure of the output gas to control the amount thereof, thereby keeping an internal pressure of a living body at the predetermined value.
Moreover, Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 8-256972 discloses an insufflator having a plurality of electro magnetic valves for controlling a state of gas flowing through a gas delivery channel extending from a gas supply source to an insufflation tool. Specifically, the insufflator is designed so that the plurality of electro magnetic values is integrated with a manifold valve, allowing the gas-flow state controlling section to become compact.
Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 2000-139823 discloses an insufflator configured to insufflate air into a lumen of a patient and to keep the pressure inside the lumen constant.
In the meanwhile, when diagnosing and treating a lumen, such as the stomach, the large intestine, or the like of a patient as one of the body cavities thereof, a flexible endoscope, referred to as “flexiblescope”, and a treatment tool therefor have been used. The flexiblescope has one thin and flexible end portion to be used as an access site into the lumen. The treatment tool for the flexiblescope is designed so that its forceps channel is inserted into the flexiblescope to project through an opening formed in the head of the one end portion of the flexiblescope.
When executing curative intervention, such as diagnosis and treatment of a lumen in a patient under such monitored conditions with the flexiblescope, in some cases, gas for lumens is injected into the lumen. The injection of gas aims at securing the flexiblescope field and a space to manipulate the treatment tool.
In these cases, the gas to be supplied into the lumen (organ cavity) can be transferred with a gas supply pump. As the gas for lumens, air has been generally applied, but carbon dioxide gas can be used.
Recently, as a new attempt, in the laparoscopic surgeries, the rigidscope is inserted into an abdominal cavity of a patient with the flexiblescope inserted into a lumen of the patient. This allows identification of a site to be treated in the patient based on an image of the inside of the abdominal cavity, which is obtained by the rigidscope, and that of the inside of the lumen, which is obtained by the flexiblescope.
Under such monitored conditions with both the rigidscope and flexiblescope, in some cases, for example, air as gas for lumens is injected through the flexiblescope into the lumen so that the lumen inflates.
When air is supplied into the lumen, it is difficult for the air to be absorbed into the living body. This may cause the lumen to remain inflated.
For this reason, when inserting the rigidscope into an abdominal cavity of a patient while inserting the flexiblescope into a lumen thereof, using an endoscope CO2 regulator (hereinafter referred to as ECR) has been considered to supply carbon dioxide gas (CO2), which is absorbed easily into the living body, into the lumen.